Shipping a Production Web App in Elm • Richard Feldman • YOW! 2015

Elm provides 100% immutability and type inference while maintaining excellent JavaScript interoperability through a “Ports” system

The language eliminates runtime exceptions through strict type checking and compiler guarantees

Performance optimization is simplified in Elm - features like HTML.lazy provide easy memoization and the compiler makes automatic optimizations

Elm’s package manager enforces semantic versioning automatically, preventing breaking changes without version bumps

The type system and compiler provide helpful error messages and guide developers to fix issues, making refactoring safer

Pure functions and immutable data are core principles that help reduce bugs and make code more maintainable

Time-traveling debugger and excellent developer tools make debugging easier

Elm’s architecture enforces clean separation between Elm and JavaScript code through a client-server style relationship

For production web apps, Elm provides better maintainability and reliability compared to JavaScript frameworks

The learning curve can be managed by gradually transitioning from imperative to functional patterns while maintaining existing features

Elm’s simplicity comes from having few core concepts (pure functions and immutable data) that work well together

The compiler and type system catch errors early and provide clear guidance on fixes, reducing debugging time